A: It doesn't upset me to write on the topic of the Illuminati, I was explaining why I write under a pen name, that is all. I received a letter recently in which it was alleged that I write under a pen name because I'm a phony, which is not true at all. I am a freelance writer on the side (I write for nursing magazines and publications on health topics that have NOTHING to do with abuse) and understand the need for fact checking, so no offense is taken at your wanting to know my background. In fact, it shows you are a responsible editor, which I admire. I have nothing to hide. My story is 100% true.

I have gained no money for disclosing; I do NOT go on talk shows, I am unknown and prefer it this way. I have absolutely no secondary gain from doing this, other than the medical bills for my children, which means I work three part-time jobs. This is to answer the skeptics who say that people disclose for: sympathy (I don't want any and don't need it. I made choices and mistakes in my life, and am now involved in restitution); money (I earn $20 a MONTH for my site on Suite 101. I earn $150 to $250 an article when I write on Women's health. Guess which topic I write on more frequently? Yep. Women's health, on completely non-abuse issues. The editors of the Nursing magazines and women's magazines don't know about the other topic I write on, another reason I write under a pen name.) I don't write for fame. Instead, if my co-workers knew about my past, I risk losing my job. I have everything to lose by disclosing, everything to gain by being silent.

But I also know that this kind of child abuse must be stopped. As a Christian, and as one who stands against child abuse, I have decided to speak out against cult abuse by writing articles that expose it. I also know that there are a number of people outspoken on this topic who have published, and they could possibly be back-up information for you. I don't know any of them, since I have no contact with other survivors other than my own family, but it is a possibility.

Anyway, to your questions:

Q: Svali, I think our readers are wondering 'Is the Illuminati a religion, secret society, satanism or is it a combination of it, or something different all together, or more sinister?

A: The Illuminati is a group that practices a form of faith known as "enlightenment". It is Luciferian, and they teach their followers that their roots go back to the ancient mystery religions of Babylon, Egypt, and Celtic druidism. They have taken what they consider the "best" of each, the foundational practices, and joined them together into a strongly occult discipline. Many groups at the local level worship ancient deities such as "El", "Baal", and "Ashtarte", as well as "Isis and Osiris" and "Set".

This said, the leadership councils at times scoff at the more "primitive" practices of the anarchical, or lower levels. I remember when I was on council in San Diego, they called the high priests and priestesses the "slicers and dicers", who kept the "lower levels happy". This is not to offend anyone, it only shows that at the leadership levels,they often believe they are more scientifically and cognitively driven. But they still practice the principles of enlightenment.

There are 12 steps to this, also known as "the 12 steps of discipline' and they also teach traveling astral planes, time travel, and other metaphysical phenomena. Do people really do this, or is it a drug induced hallucination ? I cannot judge. I saw things that I believe cannot be rationally explained when in this group, things that frightened me, but I can only say that it could be a combination of cult mind control, drug inductions, hypnosis, and some true demonic activity. How much of each, I cannot begin to guess. I do know that these people teach and practice evil.

At the higher levels, the group is no longer people in robes chanting in front of bonfires. Leadership councils have administrators who handle finances (and trust me, this group makes money. That alone would keep it going even if the rest were just religious hog wash). The leadership levels include businessmen, bankers, and local community leaders. They are intelligent, well educated, and active in their churches.Above local leadership councils are the regional councils, who give dictates to the groups below them, help form the policies and agendas for each region, and who interact with the local leadership councils.

At the national level, there are extremely wealthy people who finance these goals and interact with the leaders of other countries. The Illuminati are international. Secret? By all means. The first thing a child learns from "family, or the Order" as they are called, is "The first rule of the Order is secrecy". This is why you don't hear from more survivors who get out. The lengths that this group goes to, to terrify its members into not disclosing, is unbelievable. I have seen set ups (oh, yes, they set up fake deaths, etc. ) where a person was "burned alive" to teach the children not to tell. They are told that this is a traitor, who disclosed,and now he is being punished. (The person wasn't really a traitor, and is in a flame proof vest, but the vision of a person on fire and screaming remains with 3 and 4 year old children for a lifetime). And, when they are adults, even if they DO leave, scenes such as this mean they won't tell many people for fear of being traced and punished.

Because I helped create a lot of set ups as an adult trainer, I became somewhat cynical, and have chosen to disclose as a result. Although I do fight intense fear even now at times. Try being buried in a wooden box for a period of time (it may have been minutes, but to a four year old it is an eternity), and then when the lid is lifted, being told, "if you ever tell, we'll put you back in forever". The child will scream hysterically that they will NEVER EVER tell. I was that child, and now I am breaking that vow made under psychological duress. Because I don't want any other children to go through what I did, or have seen done to others. Yes, the Illuminati are organized, secretive, and extremely wealthy at its upper levels. They are not stupid, or poor people running around dabbling with witchcraft. To see them as this is a huge misconception.

Q: How widespread would you say this group has infiltrated our society in terms of number of people? Are they present in every town or city throughout North America? Do they take or recruit outsiders? And how far does this group go to keep this knowledge secret?

A: I think I answered some of the secrecy above. The Illuminati are present in every major metropolitan center in the United States. They have divided the United States up into 7 major regions, and each has a regional council over it, with the heads of the local councils reporting to them. They meet once every two months, and on special occasions.

A metropolitan region may have as many as 10 to 30 groups within it, and rural areas will often have meetings with other local groups, and report to the metro leadership council. They almost NEVER recruit outsiders, although ocassionally they will buy children or a family from Asia, for example, and keep them under constant surveillance in return for saving their life from the local Mafia. They are threatened with being returned to this group if they ever disclose.

They also have excellent lawyers who are well paid to help cover their tracks. There are also people in the media paid to help keep stories from coming out. I know of three people in San Diego who worked for the Union Tribune who were faithful Illuminists, and who also wrote frequent articles attacking local therapists who worked with RA (Ritual Abuse) [or SRA, Satanic Ritual Abuse] survivors. I remember leadership boasting they had "run so-and-so out of town" because of a media blitz, and being quite happy about it.

The Illuminati believe in controlling an area through its:

1. Banks and financial institutions (guess how many sit on banking boards? You'd be surprised)
2. Local government: guess how many get elected to local city councils?
3. Law: children are encouraged to go to law school and medical school.
4. Media:others are encouraged to go to journalism school, and members help fund local papers .

Q: Is this the same Illuminati that was created by Adam Weishaupt in Germany?

A: Weishaupt did not create the Illuminati, they chose him as a figurehead and told him what to write about. The financiers, dating back to the bankers during the times of the Templar Knights who financed the early kings in Europe, created the Illuminati. Weishaupt was their "go fer", who did their bidding.

Q: Do you have anymore info about the political goals, if any, of the Illuminati?

A: This article I wrote for Suite101.com addresses it: "Are the Illuminati taking over the world?" You can reprint it, or part of it, as long as you give credit to Suite 101 and/or a link back to the site.

Q: How do Illuminati members recognise each other?

A: Since it is generational, its easy. It isn't hard to recognize one's father, mother, siblings, and neighbors and friends one has grown up with. The Illuminati use telephone trees to contact members when a meeting is to occur. A month or two ahead of time, leadership council plans dates and places for meetings for different groups under their umbrella. They then call local leaders a week ahead of time (the high priest or priestess). Two days ahead, these people call their head members, who then call the people under them. A person knows their status in the group by how far ahead of time they know a meeting date. The lower in the group, the less they are trusted with information, and the less "lag time" before meetings.

Sometimes, certain pieces of jewelry, such as a ruby ring or an oval emerald, might be worn if meeting someone in a public place at a prearranged assignation. But most accessing and contact is done through family members or close friends.

When I lived in San Diego, my entire family of origin and my four closest friends were all members of the group. It wasn't hard to reach me, to say the least. My spouse was also a member. The Illuminati believe in arranged members, and do NOT allow their members to marry a nonmember. If someone says their spouse isn't in it, they aren't Illuminati, or they are in denial. This was an unbreakable policy. My marriage was arranged by the local leadership council to another ranking member. I didn't want to marry him, because I didn't love him, and I will never forget what I was told by Athena, my mentor at the time (she held the second position on the council): "That's for the best, then, because he can never hurt you or control you." Or, my mother's timeless advice given when I was 12 years old: "Never fu-- someone lower than you. They will drag you down. Always choose someone higher than yourself."

She was an ambitious woman, to say the least, determined that I would do well in this very political group. I took her advice, and Athena was my lover and protected me from some of the SOBs on leadership in San Diego especially Jonathan, the head trainer. She taught me his weaknesses and how to get around him, and stood up to him for me. I wouldn't have survived otherwise.

These are NOT nice people and they use and manipulate others viciously.They cut their eye teeth on status, power, and money. I have given all of that up to leave, and am glad to be away from it now, although I do miss some of my friends, and at times I miss the respect of being a leader. But I am learning to live a whole new life without the constant background of "family" monitoring and telling me what to do.

Know what the hardest part of getting out was? The freedom. Not having anyone telling me what to do. I literally went through a period of adjustment, felt wobbly, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. It was hard, since I was used to reflexively checking my decisions with leadership and Jonathan and my husband. Freedom can be difficult, believe it or not, and took quite a period of time to adjust to. I believe that the inability to deal with it often draws people back in. I hope this information is useful to you.

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne, How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World